System for displaying two independent images received from network

ABSTRACT

An information providing system, which transmits a passive image.such as an advertisement while providing a requested image. The passive image and the requested image, for example, information from the Internet  9 , are transmitted from the information provider  4  to the terminal  1  and displayed separately on the display  8 . The whole passive image is displayed in the front of the display  8.

This application is the national phase of international applicationPCT/JP97/00125 filed Jan. 22, 1997 which designated the U.S.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an information providing system andmethod using the Internet or the like, a terminal used in theinformation providing system, and a program-recording medium. Thepresent invention is related to the below six Japanese patentapplications. For those designated countries that permit incorporationof publications by reference, the contents of these six Japanese patentpublications are incorporated herein by reference, as a part of thedescription of the present patent application.

1. Application Ser. No. 8-9521 filed on Jan. 23, 1996.

2. Application Ser. No. 8-41104 filed on Feb. 28, 1996.

3. Application Ser. No. 8-67278 filed on Feb. 28, 1996.

4. Application Ser. No. 8-139689 filed on May 10, 1996.

5. Application Ser. No. 8-139690 filed on May 10, 1996.

6. Application Ser. No. 8-163679 filed on Jun. 5, 1996.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application is related to:

Application Ser. No. 09/125,833 filed Feb. 26, 1997, entitled“Communication System Capable of Providing User with Picture MeetingCharacteristics of User and Terminal Equipment and Information ProvidingDevice Used for the Same,” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,946, issued Dec. 5,2000.

Application Ser. No. 09/633,407 filed Aug. 7, 2000, entitled“Advertising Supported Internet Access Service.”

Application Ser. No. 09/125,894 filed Aug. 27, 1998, entitled“Communication System for Distributing Such Message as Advertisement toUser of Terminal Equipment.”

Application Ser. No. 09/206,385 filed Dec. 7, 1998, entitled“Information Provider, Terminal And System And Recording Medium For TheTerminal.”

Application Ser. No. 09/188,571 filed Nov. 10, 1998, entitled “MessageSearching System and Terminal.”

Application Ser. No. 09/276,708 filed Mar. 26, 1999, entitled “TerminalWhich Stores Information on Communication Network in Local MemoryAutomatically.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet and other computer networks provide various kinds ofinformation to users. In such kinds of information providing systems, apersonal computer (terminal) of the user is normally connected to a hostcomputer of an Internet provider or other network provider through amodem and a public communication network, such as a telephone networkand ISDN. When a user accesses the information provider via theterminal, requested information is provided either from the Internet orthe computer network or from the information provider. The informationprovided to the user's terminal is displayed on the terminal display.The user can watch the displayed information (image), scroll the imageor switch to a sub-menu by controlling the image.

The image provided from the information provider to the terminal isconventionally displayed in a single display area of the terminal. Newerterminals can display multiple images, such as an image provided fromthe information provider and terminal file information, to differentwindows. When the information provider provides images designated by theterminals, passive images such as advertisements are sometimes alsoprovided. Since the images provided to the terminals are conventionallydisplayed in a single display area (for example, a single window), thepassive images are conventionally inserted in the designated images anddisplayed in the same display area.

When the passive image is inserted in the same display area and the userupdates the images in the terminal display by scrolling the screen orclicking a button in the image, the passive image may disappear.Moreover, the passive image may be hidden behind a display of the fileinformation or the other information when the user displays the fileinformation or other information on the terminal. Therefore, with theconventional systems, the display is operated in such a manner that theuser does not always see the passive images, such as advertisements.Thus the passive images are not effectively transmitted to the users.

In addition, the passive images are conventionally transmitted to theterminal users randomly. As a result, the passive images could beprovided to users who do not want the images or who would not make anyresponse to the passive image. On the World Wide Web (WWW) of theInternet, only the information selected by the user is provided to theuser. In other words, information on the WWW is passively transmitted tothe user based on the request from the user, and it was not possible forproviders, which manage information providing systems, or other hostcomputers to actively provide information to users.

In light of the background described above, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide an information display system and aninformation provider which accurately and effectively select and providepassive images, such as advertisements, while also providing the imagesrequested by the user. It is also an object of the present invention toprovide an information provider, through which providers on the WorldWide Web (WWW) or other host computers can actively provide informationwhile a terminal connected to the information provider selectivelyreceives the passive image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve these objects, the present information display system has aninformation provider, a communication line connected to the informationprovider, a display, and a display controller which receives an activeimage (specified image) and a passive image (passive image) from theinformation provider through the communication line. The informationdisplay system displays the active image and the passive image inseparate areas of the display.

According to the invention, upon a request from the terminal to theinformation provider for transmitting active images, the specific activeimages and passive images are sent to the terminal from the informationprovider. The active images and the passive images received by theterminal are separately and independently displayed in different displayareas of the terminal by the display controller.

Therefore, the active images that the terminal user requests areindependently displayed in the corresponding display areas on thedisplay of the terminal. Moreover, because the passive images, such asadvertisements, are separately displayed in a display area other thanthat in which the active images are displayed, the passive images areindependently displayed in the display area even if the active imagesrequested by the user are changed in the active image display area.

As a result, the passive images, which have not been intentionallyrequested by a user (passive images) such as advertisements, areeffectively provided while the images intentionally requested by a user(active images) are also provided to the user. The passive image or thewindow of the passive image is displayed in the front of the displayarea. In addition, the whole passive image is displayed within thedisplay area. As a result passive images such as advertisements, can beeffectively transmitted to the user and the user is effectively madeaware of them. In addition, such display control can be accomplishedthrough functions of the OS (operating system), such as Windows95™ ofMicrosoft Corporation™.

By the operation of the user or of a program installed in the terminal,the passive images may be hidden behind other images or may appearoutside the display area, independent of the control of the displaycontroller. The information display system has a detector, which detectswhether or not the passive image is in the normal position. The normalposition is where the whole passive image is displayed in the front ofthe display area. When the detector detects the passive image not in thenormal position, the notifier provides notice of this.

The information display system may further detect the passive image tobe not in a normal position where the passive image is hidden behindother images or has been moved outside the display. In either of thesecases, the notifier notifies the user and the user is forced to changethe display status (position) of the passive image to normal. Thenotifier may display the notice on the display.

The present invention also has a display delayer which delays updatingthe active images when the detector detects that the display status isnot normal after a predetermined period of time has elapsed sincenotification. Further, the updating of the active images is suspendedwhen the detector detects an abnormal status after a predeterminedperiod of time has elapsed since the update was delayed. Thecommunication between the information provider and the terminal may bedisconnected when the detector detects the abnormal condition after apredetermined period of time since the update was suspended.

Therefore, when the passive images are not brought back to normal statusduring a predetermined period of time after the notice is given, theupdate of the active images requested by the user is delayed by thedisplay delayer, which makes it difficult for the user to browse activeimages. Further, if the passive image has still not been returned to anormal status during a predetermined time after the delay begins, theactive images are suspended and the user can no longer browse new activeimages. Finally, if the passive images are not brought back to normalstatus during a further predetermined period of time, the communicationbetween the information provider and the terminal is terminated. In thiscase, the user cannot obtain the requested images at all. Thus,according to the present invention, when the passive images are not inthe normal status, the user receives a series of warnings that he or shehas to change the status to normal.

The present invention may comprise a detector which detects whether thepassive image is in a normal status where the whole passive image isdisplayed in the front of the display area, and a display delayer whichdelays the updates of the active images when it detects that the passiveimage is not in a normal status. The active images update is delayed bydelaying the normal transmission of the active images from the displayinformation provider to the terminal. Such a delay of the transmissionis accomplished by transmitting error information to the terminal fromthe information provider.

The error may be sent at a certain rate within responses to thetransmission requests received from the terminal. The active images canbe updated. The information display system detects whether the passiveimage is in a normal status where the whole image is displayed in thefront of the display, and suspends updating the active images when thepassive image is not in a normal status. The information display systemmay detect whether the passive image is in a normal status where thewhole passive image is displayed in front, and terminate thecommunication between the information provider and the terminal when theimage is not in the normal status.

The display suspender suspends updating the active images by suspendingthe transmission of the active images from the information provider tothe terminal. Such transmission suspension is accomplished bytransmitting error information to the terminal from the informationprovider in response to a request for the transmission from theterminal. The present invention further cancels the delay or thesuspension of the active images when the display of the passive imagesbecomes normal within the predetermined period of time of the delay orthe suspension.

In addition, in the present invention, if the terminal comprises adisplay memory which stores the displayed contents of the display, thedetector determines whether the passive images are in the normal statusby determining whether the contents of the display memory in the displayarea of the passive images match the passive images transmitted from theinformation provider. From this, an accurate determination is madewhether the passive images are in the normal status.

The information provider may have an image database which stores thepassive images and the display condition of each passive image. Eachpassive image is transmitted to the terminal according to the displaycondition of the passive image. As a result, each passive image isprovided to the user terminal with the requested display condition. Thedisplay condition of each passive image stored in the image database mayinclude user information, which indicates users to whom each passiveimage should be displayed. The information provider transmits thepassive image appropriate to the user based on user information storedin a user database and image database.

While the requested images are provided to the user as described above,the passive images corresponding to the user's age, sex, etc. can beeffectively provided. The user information may include the age, sex,marital status, occupation, and address of the user.

The display condition of each passive image in the image databaseincludes an individual display limit for each user. The informationprovider counts the transmissions of each passive image to each terminaland prevents the transmission of the passive image to the terminal whenthe transmission count reaches the individual display limit for theterminal. Therefore, each passive image is provided to the user acertain number of times less than the display limit, avoiding thesituation where the same passive image is provided many times. Bysetting the display limit to a fixed number of display times within apredetermined period, the same passive image is not provided to the usermany times in any predetermined period.

The display condition of each passive image in the image databaseincludes a display transmission time of each passive image. Theinformation provider transmits the passive image at the displaytransmission time. Thus, each passive image can be provided to theterminal user by transmitting it to the terminal at the requesteddisplay transmission time. Therefore, according to the presentinvention, the passive images (passive image), such as advertisements,can be effectively recognized by and provided to the user while therequested images (active images) are also provided to the users.Meanwhile, the passive images corresponding to the age and sexclassifications of the user can be effectively provided.

In another aspect of the invention, an information provider transmits aplurality of types of images to a terminal with a display, using acommunication line to which the terminal can be connected. Theinformation provider comprises means for receiving a request from theterminal for an active image actively designated by the user of theterminal, means for selecting the active image designated by the userfrom among the plurality of types of information based on the user'srequest, means for selecting a passive image to be displayed on theterminal regardless of the presence of active designation by the userfrom among the plurality of types of information, and means fortransmitting both the active image and the passive image to the terminalto have these images displayed on the terminal.

In still another aspect of the invention, a recording medium isprovided, which stores a program for operating a terminal having adisplay and a means for connecting the terminal to a communication line.The program acting on the terminal comprises means for causing theterminal to connect to an information provider that can transmit aplurality of images, means for causing the terminal to transmit arequest for an image actively designated by the user (referred to as anactive image) to the information provider, means for causing theterminal to receive the active image selected, based on the request,from among the plurality of images from the information provider, meansfor causing the terminal to receive an image to be displayed on theterminal regardless of the active designation by the terminal user(referred to as an passive image), and means for having both the activeand passive images be received from the information provider anddisplayed on the terminal.

In still another aspect of the invention, a terminal having a displayand a means for connecting the terminal through a communication line toan information provider that can transmit a plurality of images areprovided. The terminal comprises means for transmitting a request for animage actively designated by the user of the terminal to the informationprovider, means for receiving the active image selected, based on therequest, from among the plurality of images from the informationprovider, means for receiving an image to be displayed regardless of thepresence of active designation by the user from the informationprovider, and means for displaying both the active and passive images.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a total system structure of the information display systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main body 7 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the data structure of the message database of theinformation provider 4 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows the data structure of the user database of the informationprovider 4 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of software of the terminal 1 inFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows a display 8 of the terminal 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 shows a format of message data stored in the terminal 1 in FIG.1.

FIG. 8 is a mechanical block diagram of the information provider 4 inFIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a total limit number management file of the informationprovider 4.

FIG. 10 is an individual limit number management file of the informationprovider 4.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of the terminal 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of the terminal 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of the terminal 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of the terminal 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of the terminal 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of the terminal 1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of the information provider 4.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of the information provider 4.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart of the information provider 4.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of the information provider 4.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart of the information provider 4.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart of the information provider 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows the structure of the information display system in thepresent embodiment. In this information display system, the terminal 1of the user is connected to a public network 3 through a modem 2. Theinformation provider 4 has a computer system of the provider is alsoconnected to the public network 3 through a gateway 5 and a modem 6. Theterminal 1 and the information provider 4 can communicate through thepublic network 3. The terminal 1 is has a personal computer, forexample, which comprises a main unit 7 connected with the modem 2 and adisplay 8. FIG. 1 shows only a single body for the terminal 1. However,a plurality of terminals 1 may be connected to the information provider4 through public network 3.

The information provider 4 has an Internet gateway 10, which isconnected to the Internet 9. The terminal 1 can be connected to theInternet 9 through the Internet gateway 10 and obtain information fromthe Internet 9 by accessing the information provider 4. The Internetgateway 10 and the gateway 5 work as a router. The information provider4 has a message database 12 which stores image data of the passiveimages (referred to as messages) such as advertisements, and informationsuch as the transmission condition of the passive images.

The information provider also has a message manager 11 which providesthe messages to the terminal 1, an image database and a user database13. The information from the Internet 9, that is, information designatedand supplied to the display according to the user's request, is referredto as active images. On the other hand, the messages, which areautomatically supplied to the terminal even if not designated by theuser, are referred to as passive images.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the terminal 1 of FIG. 1. CPU 40 startsrunning with the program stored in ROM 42. FD drive 52 and CD-ROM drive54 read the program or data from floppy diskette 56 and CD-ROM 58,respectively. The CPU 40 installs the program provided by the recordingmedium, such as the floppy diskette 56 or CD-ROM 58, into the hard discdrive 50, and further reads it out on the RAM 44 for execution. Timer 46counts a period of time set by the CPU 40, and when the given time haspassed, informs the CPU 40 that the time has run out. The calendar IC isbacked up by the battery, and supplies the current date and time to theCPU 40. Input device 48 inputs data from the user of the terminal 1.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the message database 12. The messagedatabase 12 stores a message ID, message transmittal condition (type ofindividual limit, individual limit, type of total limit, total limit,display date, age range, sex, marital status, occupation, and address inFIG. 3) and image data for each message.

The message ID shows an identification of each message. The messagetransmittal condition data is valid only for when the message is to beselected using the condition. The type of the individual limit indicatesthe setting of the display limit (the time period for which the displaylimit applies) when the number of display times for displaying themessage to each terminal 1 user (the display limit for transmitting anddisplaying each message to one terminal 1) is provided. For example,“days” or “months” is shown when the display limit is provided for eachday or each month. When the period for which the display limit is notprovided, is not designated, “total” is indicated in the table. Then thedisplay limit, with which the message is displayed for each terminal 1user means the total number limit.

The type of the total limit number indicates the time period of thetotal limit number (the total number of times each message may betransmitted from the information provider 4 to each terminal 1). Forexample, when the total limit is provided for each day or each month,“day” or “month” is written. When the period for the total display limitis not designated, “total” is written. The requested total limit fordisplaying the message to each terminal 1 in each period is written asthe total limit.

The display time column shows a designated date (e.g., 1996.1.1, 12:00)when the date to display each message is designated. The age rangecolumn shows the age range (e.g., 18-22) when the age range of the userof terminal 1 to whom each message is displayed is restricted. The sexcolumn shows the sex of the user (male or female) when the sex of theuser to whom each message is displayed is restricted. When the group ofterminal 1 users to whom each message is displayed is restricted on thebasis of marital status, data indicating married or single is given inthe marital status column.

In the occupation column, the type of occupation (e.g., salary man orstudent) is given when the group of terminal 1 users to whom eachmessage is displayed is restricted based on occupation type. An address(e.g., Tokyo or Kanagawa-ken) is given in the address column when thegroup of terminal 1 users to whom each message is displayed isrestricted based on address. Image data for each message is given in theimage time column.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of the user database 13. The user database 13stores information relating to the user of the information provider 4.More specifically, the user ID, password, date of birth, sex, maritalstatus (married or single), occupation, and address of each user isstored. Here, in the columns for the user ID and the password, theidentification of each user of terminal 1 connected to the informationprovider 4 and the password required to access the information provider4 from each terminal 1 are given. In the columns for the date of birth,sex, marital status (married or single), occupation, and address,information corresponding to each item is given.

The information provider 4 is accessed from the terminals 1 andtransmits each message to each terminal 1 according to the designatedconditions based on the message database 12 and the user database 13when providing the information from the Internet 9. In addition, theinformation provider 4 can transmit to the terminal 1 emergencymessages, such as earthquake information, besides normal messages, suchas advertisements.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the main unit 7.Software necessary for communicating between the information provider 4and the Internet 9 is installed in the terminal 1. The main unit 7 hasan Internet access manager 14, which controls the reception of data withthe Internet 9 through the information provider 4, the TCP/IP driver 15,a PPP driver 16, a serial driver 17 for receiving data through the modem2, and a display controller 18 for controlling the display 8 of theterminal 1.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the display 8 controlled by the displaycontroller 18. When accessing (requesting) the Internet 9 through theinformation provider 4, the display controller 18 controls the display 8to show the messages automatically provided from the informationprovider 4 (referred to as passive images, or messages) and imagesactively selected by the user (referred to as active images), obtainedfrom the Internet 9. The active images obtained from the Internet 9 arereferred to as Internet images. As shown in FIG. 6, the Internet imagesand the messages are displayed in separate display areas “a” and “b” inthe display 8. The whole message is displayed in the front most windowwithin the display 8.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the message that the terminal 1 receivesfrom the information provider 4 together with the Internet images. Themessage has a message identification, a message type which shows thetype of the message, such as an earthquake warning requiring emergencydisplay or a particular message designated for a particular displaydate, and the image data of the message. The terminal 1 receives, into amemory not shown in the figure, a plurality of the messages in a queueformat from the address indicated by the top pointer of the queue up tothe address indicated by the last pointer of the queue. The displaycontroller 18 displays the images successively, starting from the firstin the queue onto the display 8 every predetermined time period.

In FIG. 7, the word “Previous” indicates the memory address of theprevious message in the queue. The word “Next” indicates the memoryaddress of the subsequent message in the queue. The transmission of eachmessage from the information provider 4 to the terminal 1 is executed inthe same queue format as that described above.

In FIG. 5, the display controller 18executes the display controldescribed above or the like. In the display controller 18, thetransmission request counter 19 keeps track of the messages receivedfrom the information provider 4. The check level memory 20 stores thecheck level indicating how long the images are not in the normal status,normal status being where the image data of each message is displayed inthe front on the display 8 and the whole message is within the display8. The display timer 21 measures the predetermined time for displayingeach message. The check timer 22 measures the period of the abnormalmessage status. The notifier 23 displays a notice on the display 8 whenthe message status is abnormal. The detector 24 detects whether thestatus of the message on the display 8 is normal.

The display detector 24 detects whether the status of the messagedisplay is normal or abnormal by detecting whether the data of a displaymemory (VRAM) of the display 8 in the display area of the message at thedisplay 8 match the image data of the whole message from the data of theVRAM. In the transmission request counter 19, the count value isincreased by 1 each time the terminal 1 requests message transmissionfrom the information provider 4 , and is decreased by 1 each timemessage display in the queue to the display 8 is completed.

The check level which the check level memory 20 stores is set to “0”(zero) when the status of the message displayed in the display 8 becomesabnormal. The value of the check level is increased by 1 each time theabnormal status persists for a time (predetermined time) of the checktimer 22. In addition; the notifier 23 displays a notice on the display8 when the abnormal status persists for the predetermined time of thecheck timer 22 after setting the check level memory 20 to 0 (zero).

FIG. 8 shows the message manager 11 of the information provider 4. Themessage manager 11 has an Internet information transmission controller25 which manages the transmission of the Internet image from theInternet 9 to the terminal 1, a message selector 26 which selects themessage for the terminal 1 based on the information from the messagedatabase 12 and the user database 13, and a transmission database 27.The transmission database has files storing the display times(transmission times) when the display limit or the total display limitis designated.

The Internet information transmission controller 25 has a displaydelayer 28, which delays updating the Internet images provided to theterminal 1. The display suspender 29 suspends updating the Internetimages. The communication disconnector 30 disconnects (terminates) thecommunication between the information provider 4 and the terminal 1. Thetransmission database 27 has a total limit management file shown in FIG.9 for counting the display times (transmission. times) of the message,the total limit of which is designated. The transmission database 27also has an individual limit management file shown in FIG. 10 forcounting the display times (transmission times) of each message for eachuser (each terminal 1).

FIG. 9 shows the total limit management file having columns for messageID, type of the total limit, time stamp, and display counter which holdsthe total display limit, for each message. In the columns for themessage ID and the type of the total limit, the identification and thesettings (“days”, “months”, or “total”) for the total limit stored inthe message database 12 are stored when the message to which the totallimit to display is designated is transmitted for the first time. Inaddition, in the column for the time stamp, the time stamp at the timeof the transmission is stored corresponding to the setting for the totallimit to display. For example, if the setting of the total limit todisplay is per day or per month, the date (e.g., 1996.1.1) or the month(1996.1) at the time of the first transmission is stored as the timestamp. If the setting for the total limit to display is not designated,the time stamp is set as “0” (zero). In the display counter column, thenumber “1,” which indicates the first transmission, is stored at thetime of the first transmission of the message to which the total limitto display is designated.

The individual limit management file in FIG. 10 has the user ID, thetype of the individual limit, the time stamp, and the display counterwhich holds the number of transmissions of the message for which a limitto display to each user (each terminal 1) is designated. In the user IDcolumn, the identification of the terminal 1 user to whom the message istransmitted is stored at the time of the first transmission based on theuser database 13.In addition, in the columns for the type of theindividual limit, the time stamp, and the display counter, the settingof the limit (“day”, “month”, “total”), the corresponding time stamp(date of the transmission), and the number of transmissions are stored,respectively, in similar fashion as the total limit control file. Thisindividual limit management file is created for each message for which adisplay limit to each user (each terminal 1) is designated.

FIG. 11 through FIG. 16 show the operation of the terminal 1. When theuser of the terminal 1 completes the process of logging on to theinformation provider 4 to get the requested information from theInternet 9 (YES at S101), the display controller 18 will transmitrequests for transmitting messages to the information provider 4 untilthe count value of the transmission request counter 19 reaches the limitof requests for simultaneous transmissions. The transmission requestcounter 19 is incremented for each transmission (S102-S104).

When the count value of the transmission request counter 19 reaches thepredetermined limit of requests for simultaneous transmissions, thedisplay controller 18 waits until the message is received from theinformation provider 4 (S105). The received message is displayed in thedisplay 8 of the terminal 1 when the message is received (S106). Thereceived message is stored at the top of the queue as described in FIG.5. The message at the top of the queue is taken and displayed in thedisplay 8 of the terminal 1. In parallel, the Internet images requestedby the terminal 1 user are also transmitted from the informationprovider 4 to the terminal 1 separately from the messages. Then theInternet images and the messages are displayed in separate display areasa and b in the display 8 as shown in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 12, the display controller 18 determines whether the message hasbeen additionally received (S108) after setting (starting) the.displaytimer 21 (S107). When not received, the process goes to S117. When themessages (passive images) are received at S108, message type (FIG. 7) isdetermined. The message type shows whether it is emergency information,such as earthquake information (S1O9). If the received message is anemergency message, the emergency message is displayed on the display 8(S111) after the message being displayed in the display 8 is returned tothe top of the queue (refer to FIG. 7) (S110). The display controller 18resets the display timer 21 (S112). Then the display controller 18 sets(starts) the display timer 21 again (S113) and goes to S117.

If the received message is not an emergency message at S109, the displaymanager 18 determines whether the display time is designated by themessage (S114). If the display time is designated, the message is addedto the end of time designated message and before the other messages(S115). If the display time is not designated by the received message,the message is added behind the last message in the queue (S116) and theprocess goes on to S117.

Referring to FIG. 13, at S117, the display controller 18 determineswhether the predetermined time of the display timer 21 has run out, thatis, whether the message has been displayed in the display 8 for thepredetermined time. If the message has been displayed in the display 8for the predetermined time and the display timer 21 is timed out, theprocess determines whether the queue is empty (S119) after transmittinga signal indicating the message display completion to the informationprovider 4 (S118). If the queue is not empty and if the messagetransmitted from the information provider 4 is stored, the message atthe top of the queue is read and displayed on the display 8 (S120).

Then the display timer 21 is set (started) (S121), and the transmissionrequest counter 19 is decreased (S122) and the process goes on to S126.

The message in the display 8 is erased when the new message isdisplayed. If the queue is empty and the message transmitted from theinformation provider 4 is not stored, the display controller 18 displaysa predetermined idle message in the display 8 and the process goes on toS126.

If the display timer 21 has not been timed out in S117, and if themessage has not been displayed for the predetermined time, the displaycontroller 18 determines whether the idle message is displayed in thedisplay 8 (S124). If the idle message is not being displayed in thedisplay 8 (and if the message transmitted from the information provider4 is displayed), the process goes on to S126. If the message beingdisplayed is the idle message, it is then determined whether the queueis empty (S125). If the queue is not empty and the message transmittedfrom the information provider 4 is kept, the process goes through S120to 122, and the message at the top of the queue is displayed on thedisplay 8. The display timer 21 is set and the transmission requestcounter 19 is decreased. If the queue is empty at S125, the process goeson to S126.

In S126, the display controller 18 determines whether the sum of thecount of the transmission request counter 19 and the number of themessages in the queue is less than the simultaneous transmission limit.If it is less than the simultaneous transmission limit, a transmissionrequest is sent to the information provider 4 (S127), the transmissionrequest counter 19 is incremented (S128) and the process goes on toS130. If the sum of the transmission request counter 19 and the numberof the messages in the queue exceeds the simultaneous transmissionlimit, the process goes on to S130 without requesting the transmissionsto the information provider 4.

With the process described above, the messages transmitted from theinformation provider 4 are stored in the queue of the terminal 1successively according to the request for the transmission to theinformation provider 4. Each message is successively displayed for eachpredetermined time in the display area b in the display 8 independentlyfrom the Internet images for each predetermined time. Moreover,emergency messages are displayed immediately after being received. Timedesignated messages for which display times are designated are displayedin the display 8 shortly after being received.

Because each message is displayed in the independent display area a inthe display 8, displaying the message does not get affected even if theInternet image is updated by scrolling the Internet image displayed inthe display 8 with the message by the terminal 1 user or by changing thedisplay menu, and the user is effectively made aware of each messageReferring to FIG. 14, in S130, the display controller 18 determineswhether the whole message is within the display 8, through, for example,a function of an OS (operating system) provided in the terminal 1. Whenthe user moves a part of the message outside of the display 8, the wholemessage is forcibly moved back into the display 8 by a function of theOS (S131). For example, Windows 95™ of the Microsoft Corporation™ can beused as an OS having such functions. When the whole message is withinthe display area, the process goes to S132.

The display controller 18 determines whether the message is thefrontmost message on the display 8 (S132), through a function of the OS.If the message is not displayed in front because Internet images aremoved in front of the message or other file data or the like isdisplayed in front of the message, the whole message is forciblydisplayed in the front of the display 8 by a function of the OS in theterminal 1 (S133). When it is determined that the message is displayedon the frontmost surface of the display 8, the process goes to the S134.

With the process described above, the message is displayed in thedisplay 8 and at the frontmost surface of the display 8 (normal status),and the user is effectively made aware of each message. However, when aspecial operation from the terminal 1 is executed by the user, or when aspecial application software is run by the terminal 1 (e.g., a softwarewhich applies a false image of the display 8 to the display controller18), a situation occurs where despite the fact that the status of themessage display is not normal, it is understood as normal status, andthe processes S131 and S133 are not executed. To eliminate such cases,the display controller 18 executes the following processes.

Referring to FIG. 15, after the processes S130 through S133, the displaycontroller 18 determines whether the check timer 22 is being operated(S134). At this time, the check timer 22 is normally not operated. Inthat case, at S135, a determination is made by the display detector 24as to whether the received image data of the message being displayedmatches the contents of the display memory (VRAM) for the display 8 inthe display area of the message. If the actual display of the message isnot normal status, then a match obtains, resulting in a repeat of theprocess by returning to S108.

At S134, if the image data of the message and the contents of the VRAMdo not match, and if the actual status of the message display isdetermined to be abnormal, the check level stored by the check levelmemory 20 is set to “0” (zero) (S136), and the process returns to S108after setting (starting) the check timer 22(S137). Here, a state wherethe check level is 0 shows that the actual status of the message displayhas changed from normal to abnormal.

When the check timer 22 is being operated at S134 (YES at S134), thedisplay controller 18 determines by the display detector 24 whethernormal status obtains, in which the image data of the message and thecontents of the VRAM match(S138). If it is determined that abnormalstatus obtains, a determination is made as to whether the check timer 22has timed out (S139). If the check timer 22 has not timed out, theprocess returns to S108. On the other hand, if the abnormal status ofthe message has continued for more than the predetermined time of thecheck timer 22 (YES at S139), the display controller 18 determineswhether the check level stored in the check level memory 20 is “0”(S140). If the check level is 0, a notice is displayed on the display 8by the notifier 23 (S141). Therefore, the actual status of the messagedisplay is changed from normal to abnormal by the display controller 18.If the abnormal status continues for the time of check timer 22, anotice is displayed on the display 8. The user of the terminal 1 isnotified that the display status is normal.

After the display controller 18 displays the notice in the display 8, ifthe user confirms it and hits the “OK button” (S142), the displaycontroller 18 clears the display of the notice (S143), and the checklevel in the check level memory 20 is incremented to “1” (S144). Thenthe check timer 22 is set (started) again (S145), and the processreturns to the S108.

Referring to FIG. 16, if, despite the display of the notice, theabnormal display of the message continues and if the time of the checktimer 22 after the display of the notice is elapsed in this condition,“NO” (check level not 0) is determined at S140. In this case, thedisplay controller 18 determines whether the check level is “1” (S146).If the check level is 1, a level-1 event indication is sent to theinformation provider 4 (S147). The check level in the check level memory20 is incremented to 2 (S148). Then the check timer 22 is set again(S149), and the process returns to S108. Thereafter, as long as theabnormal status of the message persists, the check level is incrementedby 1 every time the check timer 22 times out until it eventually becomes4, and a level-2 event and a level-3 event are transmitted to theinformation provider 4 each time it is incremented (S150-157). When alevel-1 event is transmitted after a level-3 event to the informationprovider 4, Internet images from the information provider 4 to theterminal 1 are delayed or the communication between the terminal 1 andthe information provider 4 is disconnected.

On the other hand, if the display status of the message returns tonormal during the operation of the check timer 22 (YES at S134), and ifthe display detector 24 detects it at S135, the display controller 18resets the check timer 22 (S158) and determines whether the currentcheck level is either 0 or 1 (Sl59). At this time, if the check level iseither 0 or 1, the process returns to S108. If the check level is not 0or 1, that is, if the check level is 2, 3, or 4, the process returns toS108 after transmitting a recovery event indicating that thetransmission of the Internet images has returned to normal (S160). Inthat case, because the check timer 22 stops, it becomes NO at S134, andthe check level does not increase as long as the display status of themessage is kept normal.

FIGS. 17 to 22 are flowcharts describing the operation of theinformation provider 4. When each terminal 1 logs in (S201), the messagemanager 11 in the information provider 4 first obtains the informationof the terminal 1 user from the user database 13 (S202) and then startsan initial transmission request waiting timer (S203). If thetransmission request is not received from the terminal 1 before theinitial transmission request timer times out, due to communicationerrors, the communication with terminal 1 is disconnected (S204-S206).If the terminal 1 receives the request for the transmission, an initialmessage set in advance is transmitted to the terminal 1 (S207). Thisinitial message is displayed on the display of the terminal 1 to providenotice that normal communication with the terminal has begun.

In addition, the Internet information, which the terminal 1 userrequests to be sent to the terminal 1 is also transmitted in parallelwith the other operations. The message manager 11 determines whether thedisplay completion timer has been timed out (S208). In the followingsteps S209 and S210, the display completion timer is reset or set tomeasure a predetermined time when the information provider 4 receives anevent indicating the completion of displaying a message which istransmitted from the terminal 1 as described above. If the displaycompletion timer is timed out without receiving the display completionevent from the terminal 1 within the time of the display completiontimer (YES at S208), the same message might be still displayed on thedisplay for more than the predetermined time or communication errors mayhave occurred (S211). Therefore the information provider 4 disconnectsthe communication with the terminal 1.

When the display completion event is received from the terminal 1 beforethe display completion timer times out, the message manager 11determines whether the level-1 event has been received from the terminal1 (S212). If the level-1 event has been received, the predetermined timehas elapsed after displaying the notice and the status of the message inthe display 8 is abnormal in the terminal 1. Then, the message manager11 transmits to the terminal 1, via the display delayer 28 of theInternet information transmission controller 25, the data (IP packet) ofthe Internet image in an error which occurs at every other transmission(S213).

Therefore, because the receipt of normal Internet images is delayed,even if the user attempts to update the Internet images being displayed,the terminal 1 cannot obtain the Internet images quickly due to thedelay in updating. Therefore, a statement indicating that the display ofthe message is to be returned from the abnormal status to the normalstatus is applied to the terminal 1 user more effectively than would beachieved by merely displaying the notice.

If a level-1 event is not received at S212 or after the process at S213,the message manager 11 determines whether a level-2 event transmittedfrom the terminal 1 is received (S214). If a level-2 event is received,the message manager 11 transmits all the data (IP packet) of theInternet image to the terminal 1 in errors, via the display suspender 29of the Internet information transmission controller 25, since thedisplay has continued for more than the predetermined time and thedisplay of the message in the display 8 remains abnormal even afterdelaying the Internet images as described above (S215).

Because the terminal 1 cannot receive the Internet images normally, theuser cannot update the Internet images. Therefore, the terminal user ismore effectively made aware that he should return the message to normalstatus

If a level-2 event is not received at S214, or after the process atS215, the message manager 11 determines whether a level-3 eventtransmitted from the terminal 1 has been received (S216). If a level-3event is received, the predetermined time has passed and the message inthe display 8 is abnormal even after updating of the Internet images isterminated in the terminal 1. Therefore the message manager 11disconnects the communication with the terminal 1 by the communicationdisconnector 30 of the Internet information transmission controller 25(S217). As a result the terminal 1 user cannot receive Internet imagesat all.

If a level-3 event is not received at S216, the message manager 11determines whether a recovery event has been received from the terminal1 (S218). Here, the terminal 1 transmits the recovery event when themessage status in the display 8 returns to normal within thepredetermined time after delaying or terminating the updating of theInternet images. The message manager 11 cancels the delay made by thedisplay delayer 28 or suspension of updating the Internet images made bythe display suspender 29 and the data transmission of the Internetimages to the terminal 1 returns to normal (S219). As a result, theterminal 1 can normally receive the requested images of the Internet.

In the present embodiment, the status of the message in the display 8 iscontrolled to be normal. If the message status is abnormal, a noticeappears, the Internet information is delayed, the Internet informationis suspended, and the communication is disconnected, step by step,depending on how long the abnormal status has persisted. Even if theInternet information is delayed or terminated, the user can receive therequested Internet images normally when the status of the message isreturned to normal. The user is accurately and precisely made aware thatthe message should be changed to normal status. This ensures that themessage in the terminal 1 appears in the front of the display and thatthe whole message appears within the display 8. When the messages aredisplayed normally in the display 8, the users accurately andeffectively take in the messages.

After the above processes, the message manager 11 determines whether ithas received new transmission requests from the terminal 1 (S220). Ifnew transmission requests have been received, the transmission requestcounter is increased (S221). Then, the message manager 11 determineswhether there are transmission requests for an emergency message, suchas earthquake information (S222). This transmission request is differentfrom the one transmitted from the terminal 1. If there is a transmissionrequest for an emergency message, the emergency message is inserted tothe top of the queue in the information provider 4 (S223).

The message manager 11 also determines whether it is the appropriatetime to display any of the time-designated messages stored in themessage database 12 (S224). If it is the time for transmission, theappropriate time designated message is inserted to the top of the queuebefore all the messages except the emergency messages and other timedesignated messages (S225). Next, the message manager 11 determineswhether the number of messages in the queue of the information provider4 is less than the predetermined limit (S226). The process goes to S246if the number of messages is not less than the limit. On the other hand,if the number of the messages in the queue is less than the limit, andif there is a room in the queue, the message manager 11 proceeds. asfollows with the transmission message selector 26.

The messages in the message database 12 are inserted to the queue of theinformation provider 4 (FIG. 7). The transmission message selector 26determines whether the message transmission condition of the nextmessage includes the terminal 1 user information in the user database 13(see FIG. 8) (S227). If it includes this information, the process goesto S230. If the display condition does not include the terminal 1 usercondition, the information provider 4 determines whether all themessages in the message database 12 have been scanned (searched) (S228).

If all messages have not been scanned, the search pointer of the messagein the message database 12 moves by one and the message condition andthe user information are compared again by returning to S227 (S229). Ifthe all messages in the message database 12 have been scanned at S228,the process goes to the S246. As a result, the messages whosetransmission condition corresponds to the user information are searchedfrom the message database 12. The time designated messages inserted tothe queue at S225 and the messages, whose designated time has not yetbeen reached, are excluded from the search.

FIG. 22 shows a method for comparing the display condition of themessage and the user information at S227. First, whether the messagedesignates an age range is determined (S301). If an age range isdesignated, the age of the user is calculated based on the date of birthstored in the user database 13 (S302). Then, the calculated age iscompared with the age range designated by message (S303). If thecalculated age is not within the age range of the message, the messageis determined to be no good (NG).

Next, the message selector 26 determines whether the message designatesthe sex of the user (S304). If the sex is designated, it is determinedwhether the sex of the user matches the designated sex (S305). If theydo not match, the message is determined to be no good (NG). Similarly,if the display condition of the message designates marital status,occupation, or the address of the user, the process determines whetherthe display condition of the target message corresponds with thecharacteristics of the user (S306 to S311). If any one of the itemswhich the display condition designates does not correspond, the displaycondition of the target message is determined to be not good (NG). Ifthe contents of all of the items of the message transmission conditionare appropriate for the user, or if none of the items is designated, themessage is selected for the user (OK).

After a message whose display condition matches the user has been found(YES at S227 in FIG. 20), the message selector 26 determines from thedata in the message database 12 (see FIG. 7) whether the message has atotal display limit (S230). If there is no designation of the totaldisplay limit, the process goes to S236, which is described later.

If there is a designation of the total display limit, searches are madein the total display limit file shown in FIG. 9 of the transmissiondatabase 27, using the message ID of this message as the key (S231).Then, the record corresponding to the message is searched in the totallimit management file (S232). If no record found, a record for themessage is created in the total limit management file (S233). At thistime, the display counter of the message is set to 0 (zero).

If a record is found at S232, or if a new record is created at S233, themessage selector 26 determines whether the display counter of the recordis below the total limit (S234). If the display counter is below thetotal limit, the process increments the display counter and goes on tothe S236 (S235). If the display counter has reached the total limit, anew message is searched through S228 and S229.

In S236, the message selector 26 determines from the data in messagedatabase 12 (see FIG. 7) whether the current message has a display limitper user (per terminal 1). If there is no designation of a displaylimit, the process goes on to S244.

If an individual limit per user (per terminal 1) is designated, theprocess searches the individual limit management file (see FIG. 10)corresponding to the current message in the transmission database 27,using the user ID of the user as the key (S237). Then, the processdetermines whether a record corresponding to the user is found in thelimit management file for the current message (S238). If no recordfound, a record of the user is created in the total limit managementfile (S239). At this time, the display counter of the user is set to 0.

If a record is found at S238, or if a new record is created at S239, themessage selector 26 determines whether the display count of the recordof the user is below the limit of the current message (S240). If thedisplay counter is below the limit of the current message, the processgoes to S244 after increasing the display counter (S241). If the displaycounter has reached the limit of the current message, the messageselector 26 again determines whether the current message has a totaldisplay limit (S242). If no total display limit is designated, a newmessage is searched through S228 to S229. The display counter of thecurrent message in the total limit management file was increased atS235. If a total display limit is designated, the display counter of thecurrent message is decreased to the original value (S243). A new messageis searched through S228 to S229.

If the message selected by the above process is determined to beappropriate for the user and the conditions for the total display limitand the display limit per user are satisfied, then the message is addedafter the other messages at the end of the queue of the informationprovider 4 by the message selector 26 (S244). Then, the process moves toS246 after moving the search pointer in the message database 12 to thenext message (S245).

In S246, the message manager 11 determines whether there is an emergencymessage at the top of the queue of the information provider 4. If thereis no emergency message, the process determines whether the count valueof the transmission request counter indicating the number of thetransmission request from the terminal 1 is more than 1 (S247). If thecount value of the transmission request counter is more than 1, and if atransmission request has been received from the terminal 1, then it isdetermined whether there are messages in the queue of the informationprovider 4 (S248). If there is no message in the queue, a predefineddefault message is set to the top of the queue (S249). If there is amessage in the queue at S248, or if the default message is set at S249,the message at the top of the queue is transmitted to the terminal 1(S251) after decreasing the transmission request counter (S250). Theprocesses then repeat from S208.

If there is an emergency message at S244, the emergency message isimmediately transmitted to the terminal 1 at S251 regardless of anytransmission request from the terminal 1. If the transmission requestcounter is 0 (zero) and no transmission request is received from theterminal 1 at S245, the process returns to S208 without transmitting anymessage to the terminal 1.

As a modification of the embodiment, the internet image activelyselected by the user and the passive message may be displayed indifferent windows, and when the message window is closed, thecommunication line between the terminal 1 and the information provider 4may be automatically disconnected. Alternatively, operation of thesystem may be arranged so that an event is periodically supplied fromthe message display controller 18 to the information provider 4, whichcounts the interval between events. In this case, when no event issupplied from the message display controller 18 for a predeterminedperiod of time, the information provider 4 thereby determines that themessage display controller 18 has been forcibly closed by the user, anddisconnects the communication line.

The respective “display areas” may be realized by creating differentwindows, or by dividing one window into a plurality of areas. In thelatter case, scrolling in the message area is disabled, while scrollingof the internet information displayed in the different area is allowed,thereby reliably providing the messages to the user.

All or a part of the operations of the information provider 4 and theterminal 1 may be stored as a program in a recording medium. The term“recording medium” in the claims encompasses magnetic discs, such asfloppy diskettes, optical discs, such as CD-ROM or DVD, magneto-opticdisks, such as MO and MD, and semiconductor media, such as memory cards,miniature cards and IC cards. Furthermore, such a program can beprovided through the communications network by using the hard disk driveor semiconductor memory of the information provider or other hostcomputers connected to the communications network as the “recordingmedium.”

The program stored in the recording medium may be read out into the RAM44 directly and executed by the CPU 40. Alternatively, the program maybe installed into the hard disk drive 50 first, and then read out to theRAM 44 for execution. The program may be supplied in a single recordingmedium, or it may be divided and stored in multiple recording media. Therecording media storing the divided program may be sold individually oras a set. The program may be encoded for storage in the recordingmedium. Any such recording media storing the program in any forms arewithin the scope of the present invention.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with thepreferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the embodiments,and those skilled in the art can practice the present invention withvarious modifications. For example, as an alternative, a portion of thefunctions of the information provider 4 may be implemented and conductedby the terminal 1. Conversely, a portion of the functions of theterminal 1 may be executed by the information provider 4, as anothermodification. The functions of the terminal 1 may be limited to merelytransferring the user's input to the information provider 4 anddisplaying the image data received from the information provider 4, sothat the rest of the functions of the terminal 1 are implemented by theinformation provider 4.

A data communications network, such as a LAN, a private line, or theInternet, may be provided between the terminal 1 and the informationprovider 4. Furthermore, a plurality of host computers may be connectedthrough the data communications network so that each host computershares all or a portion of the functions of the above describedinformation provider 4, and a portion of the functions of the abovedescribed terminal 1. More particularly, providers, to which the userdirectly connects the terminal using a public line, such as a PSTN orISDN, and other host computers connected through the Internet or othernetworks may share and execute all or a portion of the functions of theabove described information provider 4 and a portion of the functions ofthe terminal 1. In this case, the term “information provider” in theclaims corresponds to any or all host computers connected to thenetwork.

These modifications in the design are obvious to those persons having anordinary skill in the art, and are clearly within the scope of theinvention defined by the appended claims. The applicant intends to filea continuation application based on the present international patentapplication in the United States, which is one of the designatedcountries, instead of proceeding to the national phase procedure.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, passive information selected by thecommunications network which includes the information provider 4 isforcibly displayed on the display of the terminal 1, regardless of thecontent or type of information which is actively selected by the user ofthe terminal 1. For example, advertisements of goods or services can besupplied to the user as passive information. Such advertisements arereliably provided to users, while the users are using the communicationsnetwork.

Via the processes of the information provider 4, each message in themessage database 12 is provided to the appropriate users. Each messageis displayed onto the display 8 of the terminal 1 according to thedisplay condition including the total display limit, the individualdisplay limit per user, and the display time. Therefore, messages arenot provided to any given user more times than is necessary. Also,messages are not provided which would be irrelevant to the user. Eachmessage is provided and appropriate number of times, at the appropriatetimes, to the appropriate users.

In the present embodiment, the time-designated messages were providedfrom the information provider 4 to the terminal 1 without determiningthe user information. However, the time-designated messages can beprovided to the users whose characteristics correspond to the messagetransmission conditions. The present embodiment provided informationfrom the Internet 9. However, the present invention can be applied to asystem, which provides information from general computer networks.

What is claimed is:
 1. A terminal for displaying user-selected images and for forced display of images from a network, the terminal comprising a communication interface for establishing a communication line to a gateway controlled by an information provider a display a display controller for requesting and receiving a first image and a second image through the communication interface from the network, for placing the second image in a queue, and for displaying the first image and the second image in separate and distinct display areas, the display controller including means for establishing a first TCP/IP link with a first link identification on the communication line means for receiving the first image from the information provider using the first TCP/IP link means for establishing a second TCP/IP link on the conmmunication line with a second link identification, the second link identification being different from the first link identification means for receiving the second image through the second TCP/IP link a transmission request counter, the transmission request controller for incrementing a count value when the terminal requests the second image and for decrementing the count value when the second image has been displayed a display timer for measuring a predetermined time for displaying the second image wherein the first image is designated and supplied to the display according to a request of a user of the terminal wherein the second image is automatically supplied to the terminal.
 2. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the display controller displays the second image in the front of the display.
 3. The terminal of claim 2 wherein the display controller displays the whole second image within the display.
 4. A recording medium storing a program for operating a terminal having a display and a communication interface for connecting to a gateway controlled by an information provider, the program comprising means for causing the terminal to establish a communication line and connect to the information provider through the communication interface means for accepting a designation of a user of the terminal of a first image to display on the terminal means for causing the terminal to transmit a request for the first image through the communication line means for establishing a first TCP/IP link with a first link identification on the communication line means for causing the terminal to receive the first image using the first TCP/IP link means for establishing a second TCP/IP link on the communication line with a second link identification, the second link identification being different from the first link identification means for causing the terminal to receive a second image through the second TCP/IP link, wherein the second image is automatically supplied to the terminal means for causing the terminal to receive the second image aqueue means for placing the second image in the queue means for displaying the first image in a first display area of the display means for displaying the second image in a second display area of the display a transmission request counter for incrementing a count value when the terminal requests the second image and for decrementing the count value when the second image has been displayed a display timer for measuring a predetermined time for displaying the second image wherein the second display area is separate and distinct from the first display area.
 5. The recording medium of claim 4 wherein the program further comprises display control means for having the first image and the second image be displayed in different windows.
 6. The recording medium of claim 4 wherein the program comprises detecting means for detecting whether or not the display state is normal, a normal display state being a display state in which the entire second image is displayed on the front-most surface of the display area and within an allowed area of the display means for having the communication between the terminal and the network be disconnected when the detecting means detects that the display state is not normal.
 7. A terminal having a display and a communication interface for connecting the terminal through a communication line to a gateway of an information provider, the terminal comprising means for accepting a designation of a user of the terminal of a first image to display on the terminal means for transmitting a request for the first image through the communication line means for establishing a first TCP/IP link with a first link identification on the communication line means for receiving the first image using the first TCP/IP link means for establishing a second TCP/IP link on the communication line with a second link identification, the second link identification being different from the first link identification means for receiving a second image through the second TCP/IP link, wherein the second image is automatically supplied to the terminal a queue means for placing the second image in the queue means for displaying the first image in a first display area of the display means for displaying the second image in a second display area of the display a transmission request counter for incrementing a count value when the terminal requests the second image and for decrementing the count value when the second image has been displayed a display timer for measuring a predetermined time for displaying the second image wherein the second display area is separate and distinct from the first display area.
 8. A method of operating a terminal, the terminal comprising a display which allows multiple windows as part of a graphical user interface, each window comprising a separate and distinct display area having independent control, the terminal communicating with a computer network, the method comprising establishing a communication line from the terminal to the computer network establishing a first TCP/IP link with a first link identification on the communication line activating a browser program opening a browser window on the display making requests of servers on the computer network on behalf of a user of the browser program for first images, wherein the first images are designated and supplied according to a request of a user of the terminal receiving the first images from the servers using the first TCP/IP link displaying the first images in the browser window establishing a second TCP/IP link on the communication line with a second link identification the second link identification being different from the first link identification opening a second window on the display, wherein the second window cannot be hidden by the browser window requesting that a server on the computer network send a second image automatically supplied to the terminal incrementing a count value when the terminal requests the second image receiving the second image through the second TCP/TP link placing the second image in a queue displaying the second image in the second window decrementing the count value when the second image has been displayed measuring a predetermined time for displaying the second image.
 9. The method of operating a terminal of claim 8 wherein the second image is selected by an information provider.
 10. The method of operating a terminal of claim 8 wherein the terminal communicates with the computer network via a communication line, the method further comprising closing the communication line if the second window is closed.
 11. A method of operating a terminal, the terminal comprising a display which allows multiple windows as part of a graphical user interface, each window comprising a separate and distinct display area having independent control, the terminal communicating with a computer network, the method comprising establishing a communication line from the terminal to the computer network establishing a first TCP/IP link with a first link identification on the communication line activating a browser program the browser program opening a first window on the display for displaying first images, wherein the first images are designated and supplied according to a request of a user of the terminal making requests of servers on the computer network for the first images receiving the first images from the servers using the first TCRP/IP link displaying the first images in the first window establishing a second TCP/IP link on the communication line with a second link identification the second link identification being different from the first link identification automatically opening a second window on the display for displaying second images automatically supplied to the terminal, wherein the second window is displayed in front of the first window requesting that a given server on the computer network send a one of the second images incrementing a count value when the terminal requests the one of the second images receiving the requested second image through the second TCP/IP link placing the requested second image in a queue displaying the requested second image in the second window decrementing the count value when the requested second image has been displayed measuring a predetermined time for displaying the requested second image receiving a user input to close the second window closing the second window.
 12. The method of operating a terminal of claim 11 wherein the second image is selected by an information provider.
 13. The method of operating a terminal of claim 11 further comprising keeping the second window in the front of the display.
 14. The method of operating a terminal of claim 11 wherein the terminal communicates with the computer network via a communication line, the method further comprising closing the communication line if the second window is closed.
 15. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the display areas are two windows.
 16. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the display areas are two areas of a single window, wherein the display area in which the first image is displayed is scrollable and the display area in which the second image is displayed is not scrollable. 